My Thanks for Others

By Margaret Rorke

O Lord, how very much I owe
To others whom You've let me know
And so from day to day --
The young, the old, the in-between
Who make an entrance in the scene
In which I'm called to play.

Another's sweet, approving smile
Can make my efforts seem worthwhile
And crown my will to try.
Encouragement another speaks
Is oft the spur my spirit seeks
Though not quite knowing why.

And, yes, I'm grateful too
For those who have a dimmer view
Of me and my poor part,
Because they challenge me to test
What's truly noble, pure, and best
Within my mind and heart.

I often wonder how I'd be
Without the folks surrounding me --
My vital, living hymn.
That's why I pause to give this prayer
To You it pleased to put them there.
I thank you, Lord, for them.

A Sweet Valentine from Daddy God!

Thank you, Daddy God, for your sweet, beautiful Valentine for me today,

to remind me how much you love me!

Heart-Stones

Just about the time I uploaded my last post, a tragic accident occurred in my husband's family. His cousin's 9 year old son was killed in a farming tractor accident. I could imagine Jesus and his grandmother joyously greeting him in heaven, but oh, the heartbreaking sorrow his daddy, mommy, brothers and grandpa Sam must be feeling.  Hug pile-up. . . . .

{{{{{ RUSH FAMILY}}}}}

Stephanie Ackerman has a collection of heart shaped stones. She had one or two that has been given to her by her boys and a friend but most of them she found along the way when she was needing help to get through some difficult situations.  She called them her love notes from God.

Then a friend invited her to join the Stone Collective which is a group of artists, who, based on the passage in 1 Samuel 7:12-14, create figurative "Ebenezer Rocks" as a monthly worship practice. Stephanie felt this was the perfect opportunity to creatively add to her collection of "heart stones" as she realized God was giving her symbols of his love and comfort when she needed it most.

"..Samuel took a single stone and set it upright between Mizpah and Shen.

He named it “Ebenezer” (Stone of Help), saying, “This marks the place where

God helped us.”~ 1 Samuel 7: 12-14

I shrunk from writing about this but one of Stephanie's verses this month says that many in the family of believers are undergoing the same kind of suffering -- actually the verse is: "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." ~ 1 Peter 5:7-9 

That means you may be going through some difficult situations too like my husband's family. Maybe together we can find some hope and strength, when it's difficult to put one foot in front of the other --  "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our troubles. . ." ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4a.

So while I was grieving and thinking about writing my blog post this week, God sent me a reminder of his love in the form of a heart-stone. A feller stopped by my History Nut blog to leave me a note and we have corresponded a little.  I bet Mr. Vonderlin who is a photographer and outsider folk artist with an interest in history didn't realize he was being used of God to remind me of His love, because he's got  a Flickr heart-stone photo album that he shared with me this week. I can't scientifically imagine what processes God uses to create a real heart-stone, but the ones that Mr. Vonderlin has photographed came from his scrounging at California beaches for art supplies.

I don't have a heart shaped stone photo to insert here, although I wish I did, but Stephanie is always saying to use what you have, so I mouse drew a little banner on my computer paint program to add a heart shape illustration to the bottom of this post. Thank you God for reminding me of that! 😊